Numerous types of hand-held fluid dispensers have been devised for the application of liquid materials to the skin. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,865,850 to E. S. Garvey discloses a hand-held liquid dispenser with an applicator brush at one end. A spring-loaded plunger is provided with a seal at one end and a rubber end cap for depressing the plunger against the resistance of the spring in causing the material to be dispensed from a container and onto the applicator brush.
Other dispensers have been devised with a bellows-shaped container for the fluid or liquid to be dispensed and having a one-way valve at one end which is normally closed but will open under the pressure of the liquid when the container is squeezed or compressed. Representative patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,355,238 to G. Schwartzman; 3,833,154 to I. J. Markowitz, 4,004,854 to C. Breer, II, 4,201,317 to H. P. Aleff, 4,220,264 to R. K. Gamadia, 4,225,061 to W. S. Blake et al, 4,397,132 to G. Pardes et al, 4,485,807 to J. L. H. Gueret and 4,903,867 to H. Mettenbrink. In general, valves of the type disclosed in those patents have fallen short in the respect that they are limited in the range of viscosity of liquid that can be effectively handled and dispensed and do not effect a positive automatic closure when pressure is no longer applied to the container so as to avoid spillage and waste of material. Also, a positive closure is important when traveling in order to prevent staining of other articles. Still another consideration is to be able to regulate the flow of many of the less viscous materials and yet achieve a positive closure to the extent of sealing the material against leakage when not in use but nevertheless to permit the closely controlled application of the desired amount of material. For example, the foregoing considerations are important in dispensing and applying liquid solutions used for the treatment of acne and which are low viscosity materials and highly flowable.